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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · board · game · row · tear · face · bound · cue

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cue — a hint
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bound — obliged
  8. face — to confront
  9. wound — an injury
  10. row — to paddle
  11. board — a committee
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. board — to get on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. row — a line
  19. cue — a signal
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. wound — an injury
  22. face — part of the head
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cue — for pool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com